


You found me

by at_the_edges_of_print



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: College Student Ben Solo, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22795255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/at_the_edges_of_print/pseuds/at_the_edges_of_print
Summary: I wrote this for a prompt, go check it out before reading!https://galacticidiots.tumblr.com/post/190733820184/driverdelight-tracks-2013Basically marine biologist Ben in tiny little shorts on a boat tries to find love.
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Original Female Character(s), Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Original Male Character(s), Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	You found me

“Ben” 

He woke up with a start. 

Ben looked around, it took him a moment to place himself. He fell asleep on the couch again. He got up slowly, back cracking as he stretched his arms up over his head. He let out a big groan, steadying himself as blood struggled to rush up to his brain from being vertical once again.

‘Ringggggg’ His cellphone let out a muffled ring.

“Ugh where is it” He dug around in his pockets then between the couch cushions.

‘Ringggg’ It rang again.

“Hold on I’m coming” He looked to his left and saw his coat draped over the armchair. He walked towards it and saw the telltale light from one of the pockets. He fished out his phone and pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”

“Ben hey, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything” came the reply, accompanied by static and someone laughing in the background.

Ben looked around at his empty one bedroom apartment ”No, you didn’t”

“Great great, I have an assignment for you” said Hux his longtime boss.

Ben scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sure sure, just send me the details”

\--

Ben didn’t set out to become a marine biologist. He thought he would become a soldier, at least that was what his parents wanted. His mother, Leia Morgana, was a general in the navy seals and his father, Han Solo, was a well known pilot. He grew up as an army brat, 10 states in 18 years. When it came time to enlist he just couldn’t sign the papers. He couldn’t imagine the rest of his life just being more of what it already was. It led to one hell of a fallout between him and his parents. It was 2 months of silent dinners and passive aggressive jabs from his father until his mom put an end to it.

“Enough! I can’t take this anymore. Ben’s not going to the army, accept it” she looked pointedly at Han. “Let’s try to enjoy this dinner”

The next night, Leia asked him what he wanted to do with his life.

He didn’t really have an answer for that, but he had always liked writing. When he was younger his mom used to leave for days at a time on assignments. One time when he was 9, he fell ill right before his mom had to leave. He begged her not to go, clinging on to the slacks of her uniform and refusing to let go. He was inconsolable. Nothing his parents did could calm him down. Exasperated, his mother knelt down before him.

“Ben, I have a mission for you” said Leia.

Unable to stop hiccuping from his bout of crying and while rubbing his chubby fists across his eyes, Ben asked “Mission?” 

“Yes Ben a mission. It’s very important, do you think you can do it?” said Leia while looking into her son’s red and puffy eyes.

Ben nodded. What else could he do? His mother could command the attention and obedience of hundreds upon hundreds of men, he was powerless.

“I’m leaving” said Leia. Ben let out a soft whine at the admission, he was about to start sobbing all over again-

“I need you to do something for me. I’m leaving this household in your care. I need you to watch over our home and your father, and report to me everything that happens. Do you understand? And I mean it Ben, everything”

Ben paused, a sense of importance welling up inside him, so much that he forgot the heaviness in his limbs and the cloudiness in his head.

“Okay mommy, I-I’ll do it” 9 year old Ben said, a barely noticeable quiver in his voice.

“Good boy” Leia smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “Mommy will be back before you know it”

Ben put his hands around her neck, his small hands reaching up to pet the familiar buns on his mother’s head. He felt his father put his hand on the top of his head.

3 days later General Leia Morgana came back to an hourly log book filled with Ben’s messy scrawl and what could only be described as an abstract at the very beginning, detailing how among other things, Han had let him watch TV past his bedtime but not let him have more that 1 ice cream cone per day.

Thus began the mother and son ritual, which continued until the summer Ben turned 13. 

\--

He was in his 2nd year of college working on his journalism degree when a pretty girl with brown hair in double chinese buns and big eyes handed him a flyer about a skin diving lesson her group was hosting. 

Ben went of course. He was a sucker for pretty girls with the hair in buns.  
\--

Ben being the inept fuck that he is, did nothing with the smiles Emma sent his way. He didn’t do anything when he noticed her lingering stares towards his torso or back or when she clung to his biceps when they were on the boat going to dive sites. He was an army brat after all, his parents had long instilled in him the importance of fitness. Still, he didn’t do anything when Emma stayed behind to give him additional lessons and he didn’t go to any of the outings she invited him to. 3 weeks later he passed by Emma in front of the library, laughing and holding the hand of a tall, kind looking guy with an annoying set of perfectly white teeth. Ben looked at the ground and pretended not to see them.

\--

Ben woke up on the saturday of his last skin diving lesson. They were finally letting him take the plunge, so to speak. He contemplated not going, the image of Emma from the library flashing through his head. 

“It’s not like I have anything better to do” thought Ben. 

He heaved himself up and reached under his bed, looking for the bag containing the uncomfortably low cut swim tights he bought last weekend. They rested right below the vee of his hips, highlighting his well defined abdomen. He tried not to think of how he chose the tights for Emma, because the store clerk couldn’t seem to stop looking at him when he had them on.

He went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing water onto his face. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror, looking at his too long face and his too big nose. His wavy inky black hair falling around his tired looking eyes. 

“No wonder she didn’t want me” thought Ben.

He reached into the bag for his swim tights, looking at a piece of paper that fluttered down unto his white tiled floor. He reached down to pick it up, seeing a phone number written in blue ink. It was signed Sam with a heart at the end.

Ben smiled, maybe it wasn’t going to be a bad day after all.

\--

Ben was sitting near the end of the boat, his bare back against the cold railing, one arm draped over it. He titled his face up towards the sun, closing his eyes and breathing in the salty fresh air. His hair was in a bun and the wind was whipping the loose strands against his face. He let out a big exhale, a feeling of contentment washing over him. After a few minutes, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, it felt like someone was staring at him. He opened his eyes and saw Emma. Her mouth was slightly open and she was staring at his chest, the pupils in her eyes looking bigger than normal. He could see a slight flush crawling up her neck, easily visible from her blue bikini top. She flicked her eyes up towards his face and realized she’d been caught. She turned even more red and quickly averted her eyes, suddenly seeming very interested in the diving equipment at her feet. 

“Huh” Ben thought.

\--

Ben put on his fins and removed his necklace from around his neck, putting it in his bag. He put on his diving mask and fins and waited for his turn. He jumped into the water and was immediately assaulted by the cold. It was like waking up from a dream where you were falling, a startling wakefulness which left him reeling. He kicked his feet until his face broke through the surface of the water. Someone touched his shoulder, pointing towards their divemaster who was giving directions. Ben shuddered once more before steeling himself, then moved towards the group. 

Each newbie was paired with a veteran, but they were told to stay around the perimeter of the boat and within sight of each other. Coincidentally, Ben was paired with Emma. She said they should move away first and then descend so that when they went up they would be right under the boat. Ben followed her away from the boat.

“Ready?” asked Emma when they were far enough.

Ben nodded.

“Let’s go,” Emma said with a small smile.

They descended. The goal this session was to stay under as long as they could and to reach 30 meters. From practice, Ben knew he could only hold his breath for 4 minutes. They were in a shallow reef, Ben could see the ocean floor, although it was dark despite it being 8 am in the morning. He could barely see the others, just small multi-colored blobs in the distance. 

They were about 20 meters from the surface, Emma and him were swimming in between tall stalks of kelp, their fins helping to propel them forward with every kick. Small pockets of light in between the kelp were able to illuminate the ocean floor. It was alive to say the least. Schools of small fish were zooming back and forth, shimmering as the light bounced off of their silver scales. Small crabs were crawling across the floor leaving clouds of sand in their wake. Jellyfish were floating around like small night lights. Despite all that, Ben had never felt such stillness. The only things he could hear were the muted sounds of the ocean and the beating of his own heart.

On his 3 minute mark, Ben signalled to Emma pointing up towards the surface. She nodded looking up at the bottom of their about. They had just started to ascend when Ben felt Emma’s nails digging harshly into his forearm. He looked at her, seeing her face frozen in fear at something behind him. Ben turned around, catching sight of an approaching shark, it had to be at least 15 feet long. Ben’s heart started racing, his heartbeat deafening to his own ears. He felt Emma’s grip on him loosen. He looked back at her and saw her eyelids flutter like she was about to faint. She was drifting downwards from not kicking. He gripped her arms in both hands, turning himself fully to face her. He brought her back up to his level, kicking his feet to keep them both afloat. He tightened his grip on her arms and shook her, fingernails digging into her skin. He hoped the sensation would ground her. She blinked rapidly a few times, he could see her tears falling and her mask fogging up.

He nodded at her as if to ask “Are you okay?”

She closed her eyes, tears still falling but nodded, reaching up to grip his forearm. She started to slowly thread again. They both turned to watch the shark as it got closer, literally with baited breath. Ben’s vision was starting to blur at the edges, it had definitely been more than 4 minutes. The shark was about to pass right above them, Ben watched as beams of light illuminated the shark’s large body and his numerous scars. Finally, finally when the shark was just a blur in the distance, they started to ascend, their hands still linked together.

\--

“Ben!” He turned around at the sound of his name, coming face to face with Emma who was trying to catch her breath.

“I wanted to thank you, for earlier. It should have been me keeping you calm but I saw the shark and then I..I just...I couldn’t-”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Ben tried to smile at her reassuringly. “To be honest I still can’t believe it happened” Ben said looking away, one hand rubbing his neck.

Emma gave him a teary smile. “Ben I, I wanted you to know. I’m uh..I’m interested in um, in you. And it was before today! I swear! Although sort of saving my life definitely won you some points I gotta admit”

“Oh” Ben replied. His cheeks suddenly felt overly warm.

Emma reached out her hand, resting it on his forearm. Ben looked at her small hand, admiring the contrast of it against his large-

“Let me know okay? If you feel the same way. I don’t need an answer right away” said Emma.

“Oh uh I, I mean, I do um...” Ben flailed.

“Emma we need to go!” Someone called from a car.

Emma looked back at the car and said “Coming!”

“That’s my ride I need to go. Take care of yourself Ben” said Emma with a smile. She squeezed his forearm and reached up on the tips of her toes-

Ben’s breath caught in his throat as she came closer, he could smell the ocean on her as well an underlying sweet scent, lavander maybe. He felt her soft lips on his cheek, a hair's breadth away from the corner of his mouth.

“See you Ben, call me okay?” She pressed a piece of paper into his hand. With a parting smile she turned around and left.

Ben stood in place for a moment, trying to get his thoughts in order. He clenched the piece of paper in his hand, a small smile forming on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
